George Mason will take a one-shot lead into the weekend of the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge supported by Finnish Golf Union after posting a six under par round of 66.
The Englishman carded eight birdies and two bogeys to move to 13 under at Vierumäki Resort, one ahead of German Anton Albers in second.
The 24-year-old was delighted with his opening two rounds in Finland and highlighted accuracy off the tee and putting as being key to success so far.
“I played well today, and it was pretty solid,” he said. “Overall I’m very happy and I hit it great off the tee.
“I tried to play pretty smart and made sure not to short-side myself because these greens are very slopy. I putted nicely too.
“Around here you have to be good off the tee and hit greens. It’s important to make smart club choices because there’s a lot of run offs around the greens.”
Mason, who carded a seven under 65 in round one, admitted that scoring was slightly tougher on day two and is now looking forward to the weekend as he goes in search of a maiden HotelPlanner Tour victory.
“It played a bit tougher today with the wind and some tricky pin positions,” he said. “I feel confident in my game but it’s the first time I’ve been in this position so I’m slightly nervous.
“I’m looking forward to the weekend and hopefully I can handle it well. I’m just going to try and enjoy it.
“Anything can happen over the next two days and there are a lot of good players playing so I’m just going to give it my all.”
Scotland’s David Law sits in third position on 11 under par, while Italian Aron Zemmer, American Chase Hanna, Hugo Townsend of Sweden and overnight leader Alvaro Hernandez Cabezuela are a shot further back in fourth.
About the HotelPlanner Tour
The HotelPlanner Tour, formerly the Challenge Tour, had its first official season in 1989, and has developed into a proven training ground, where the champions-in-waiting compete across the globe for a place on the DP World Tour.
Many players who have progressed from the HotelPlanner Tour have gone on to become Major Champions – including Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick and Brooks Koepka – and Ryder Cup stars, such as Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Nicolai Højgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.
Using its vast international schedule and relationships with golf federations and PGAs, the HotelPlanner Tour is widely accessible to professionals from across the globe, giving players from developing golfing nations the opportunity to test their skill amongst some of the most talented up and coming stars in world golf.
HotelPlanner, a leading travel technology company, has been the title partner of the HotelPlanner Tour since the start of the 2025 season.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
